Tara Brennan
"“I’ve learned that everyone can do their part to repair the world, and that the more you look for them, the easier it becomes to spot all the little pieces. And most of all, I’ve learned that the sidelines may be safer, but life is played on the field.” - Tara in her “What I Learned” essay in 13 Gifts ''Tara Brennan is the protagonist and narrator of the third book in Wendy Mass's series set in the small town of Willow Falls.'' She is a twelve-year-old girl who turns thirteen in 13 Gifts. She is seen in [[13 Gifts|''13 Gifts]], The Last Present, ''and ''Graceful. Early life Tara Brennan was born on July 13, 2000. She spent her first twelve years moving from town to town nearly every year, because of her mother, and she becomes annoyed by it. (In the end of 13 Gifts her mom explains that she was trying to hide from Angelina D'Angelo.) Tara in ''13 Gifts Tara is about two months from turning thirteen when the book 13 Gifts begins. The story opens up with twelve-year-old Tara Brennan explaining what had happened shortly before the current moment. Tara, in an attempt to befriend the most popular girls in the seventh grade, had planned to steal the school's mascot, a goat. This plan fails and ends in Tara "accidentally" pepper- spraying her principal due to oversensitive reflexes. Tara hopes that her mother would approve of her doing so because possibly she would see it as her daughter making friends. Instead, her mother seems to be disappointed in Tara for what she did. Tara is mad now that she can't go to Madagascar with her parents, and instead ends up going to a place called Willow Falls where her math-loving cousin Emily is. Tara then steals her uncle's expensive comic book (to get money) and tries to resell it to the original buyer, Angelina D'Angelo. Angelina remembers that comic book and realizes that Tara stole it, so she gives Tara a list of things that she has to find on an old tape recorder. With the help of her friends, Tara finds all of the items and realizes that they all belong to a play, The Fiddler on the Roof. Tara and her friends put on the play and, at the end of the play, find out that her mom gave her dad a love potion to fall in love with her.Except they late on realize that the dad didn't drink the love potion, he poured it into the fountain. The two birds Max and Flo, who have been there since the time her parents were teenagers, drank it instead, so that is why they are in love. Physical Appearance Tara is described as tall for her age, and falls around 5'6" or 5'7"(this is inherited from her father, as in The Last Present Amanda described her mother as looking like 'a kid in the front seat'). She also has dark medium length hair. She is around average weight for her height and age. Tara may be Irish, due to her surname's heritage, Brennan. She also has hazel eyes. Personality Tara is a shy and awkward girl at first glance, but once you get her out of her shell, she's a silly, funny girl with a big heart. She's clever and loves joking with people (as seen in The Last Present, when she and Rory prank Amanda and Leo a few times when they come back from the past) and cares about her friends and family. Relationships David Goldberg At the end of the 13 Gifts, David gives Tara a soundtrack of him singing, while Tara makes him a photo frame made out of broken glass. David was one of the reasons that Tara was collecting the items on the list. Tara questions their relationship in The Last Present as David is away tending to his father, and doesn't talk to Tara during that period of time, though Tara still likes him. Their relationship is reaffirmed at the end of The Last Present when David introduces Tara to a healed Mr. Goldberg as his girlfriend. They also share their first kiss at the very end of the book. Rory Swenson Tara and Rory become good friends very quickly when she moves to Willow Falls. Rory is always helping out Tara in certain situations. At first Tara is very surprised that Rory is dating Jake, but soon eventually gets used to it. Amanda Ellerby Tara and Amanda aren't super close in 13 Gifts, but it's clear they do become pretty good friends by The Last Present. Tara and Rory wait with Ray every day for Amanda and Leo to get home from the past, where they'd been fixing Grace's birthday parties.'' '' Leo Fitzpatrick Leo and Tara aren't shown as particularly close, and Tara first thinks he's weird due to him and Amanda communicating through only blackboards and texting. She warms up to him throughout the series and in ''The Last Present, ''pranks him and Amanda when they return from the past several times. She, Amanda, Leo, and Rory all become very close friends at the end of “The Last Present” due to their involvement with Angelina and all of their special abilities to help others, each in their own way. Category:Female Character Category:Main character Category:Dating Category:Team Grace